Chapter 33/Galeries Lafayette

"Where is this place?" said Harvey as we strolled along the Paris street.

We were both loving and hating the streets of Paris. The streets back home in America had a nice grid to them. You knew where you were and had complete freedom to get from a to b by any route. Here the plan of the city was like someone had designed an orderly city then at night their toddler had come in and decided to add a few more lines. Taking up daddy's or mommy's ruler they furiously added more lines for streets at random angles to the orderly ones that were there. Being French the proud urban designing parent had left them in and sent the plan to the city . On the ground, the builders wondered how to make buildings the shape of cut cake at times, but they did it. We walked down streets lined with huge trees, line an army of a forest was somehow marching back into the city.

Harvey didn't like the lack or order and clutter, I on the other hand loved the life on the streets. It was like the whole city was a theater and the people of Paris the actors. At home, we hardly ever did much outside, still less in public. Here people argued, kissed, shouted, sang on the urban stage. Back home cities had purpose things were there for a reason. Starbucks nicely spaced out capturing the optimal number of people. Here two cafe's could be right next to each other, each reflecting the individuality of the owners and the determination that the other should go. In fact, under the richly decorated stone facades, I never saw a chain shop. They didn't have air-conditioning they had awnings hanging out over the street. Everything was about six stories tall. The ground floor had shops or cafes. The next floors up sometimes had offices and sometimes had flats. Compared to the zoned order to back home this was a city as a bowl of Gumbo, but it had a life. We came to a point where several streets crossed like the swords of musketeers coming together in two swear an oath to each other.

"Over there,realised" I said pointing to a huge building on the corner of the street.

"What makes you think that is Galeries Lafayette?" said Harvey.

"Its' got the word Galeries Lafayette" written on it Sam said.

We were confronted by a massive shop. We went in and realized it was a bit like a combination of JC Penny, a shopping mall and a boudoir. It was massive like it was a lost fragment from planet over shop. Harvey looked around.

"Can't these people leave anything uncarved?" he asked looking at the complete lack of restraint decoration.

"Clearly not," said Marta looking around.

We entered a huge hall an looked up passed two levels of curved balconies up to a glass dome that looked like it had been made from a mediaeval stained-glass window by mermaid builders. I looked around, as we had entered my nose had been not just assaulted but possibly mugged by the perfume and cosmetic counters which occupied the ground floor. There was the smell of everything from vanilla to Neem seed oil or Myrrh. This was a jungle for the senses. To match the jungle there were predators in the shape of tall models loping about like black panthers all in the impossible heels. They were moving breathing mannequins showing off the latest clothes. The cosmetics hall was turned into a kind of living catwalk.

"Sortez mon chemin, moche." said an impossibly tall and thin model pushing past us. She had cheek bones so prominent you could use them to slice cheese with.

"I like them," Marta said indicating the models as one passed us by "they are all pouty and rude and sexy"

I looked at the cosmetics desks close to us. I still had Alexanders card I could buy any of this. I half felt like doing so, if he was really working for Homeland security, I felt like I had total right to. It was busy here and it wasn't just the models.

"Lancome, Dolce & Gabbana, Chanel, Dior I notice the French had to depend on good old America for cosmetics." said Harvey " Its just like George Bush said the French don't have a word for entrepreneur." .

"It looks to me like the cosmetics industry was completely uneffected by the rise of the TS-17 virus," I said realising the stupidity of my expectation.

"I think we should split up and start looking," said Sam looking at his watch "Let's meet back here in half an hour."

"If it says ask for Ox-Blood I would say we need to look in the meat and butchery section first," said Marta.

"Or" I began nodding "we can go over to Nars over there and ask."

There was a cosmetics counter called Nars and I thought it made sense to check there first. I walked over to the glass and polished silver counter leaned over and approached the girl who had so much makeup on you wondered if she could blink with out cracks forming.

"I'm looking for Ox Blood," I said.

"Je ne vous comprends pas, mon cher. Peut-être que vous devriez essayer de parler français ou quelque chose." said the girl.

The tall model who had rudely pushed by us before came over and spoke to the assistant. She leant over the glass cabinet next to me. The assistant passed a small box over and out of it the box pulled a dark red lipstick.

"Je vais m'occuper de cet imbécile américain, vous allez déjeuner." said the model. The assistant drifted off to the other end of the counter out of ear shot.

Possessed Hiding as a fashion model was quite a clever disguise I thought.

"My name is Amélie, Let's see if this looks any good on you," said the model in her accented English while she got the lipstick out "Vot are you doing here? It better be good I gave up doing a perfectly good Phd in Quantum Physics for three years to do this."

"A message in a box sent me," I said "I found the key in a box under a Maze."

She began applying the lipstick to me.

"I heard a rumour a girl like you might turn up. You have something of importance. "

"Na nur noe nu nirus," I said not able to move my lips while I spoke.

The model nodded.

"I have special orders for you. Go to London. You won't stand out so much there. Go to an abandoned underground station called Aldwych at midnight. You will be expected. Make sure your not followed" she whispered in my ear.

Then she got up went behind the desk took the lipstick and began to wrap it up.

"Je suis tellement content que vous l'aimiez." She said as cover while someone walked by.

I handed Alexander's card over to pay for it. I looked at the price as the till flashed it up.

"Excuse me is that in Euros or Yen?" said Marta.

"For a beautiful woman it doesn't matter," Amélie said.

She lent over the counter again.

"Two pieces of advice. If we are expecting you then you can be sure the Department of France knows to and its looking for you, so be careful." Amélie said.

"Thanks," I said smiling as a cover "whats the second thing?"

"Don't ware the lipstick in public. It's too seductive for you. Don't wear it when your boy friend is around either."

I looked at her and raised an eyebrow "is there some time when I can wear it?"

"Wear it when you are doing the laundry or have a particularly difficult term paper to write," said Amélie handing over the tiny shopping bag to me.

"You have a special lipstick to wear when doing the laundry?" I said.

"Sure," she said shrugging "doesn't everyone?"

Next Stop London.